December 31, 2008

Orange Bowl coaches entertain

Bowl press conferences the day before kickoff tend to be fingernails-on-chalkboard irritating. All conceivable questions and answers have been exhausted, and the hour (8:30 a.m. in this case) is unfit for most media nightowls.

But Virginia Tech’s Beamer and Cincinnati’s Kelly put on a lively show this morning, leaving the impression that their teams are poised to deliver the same Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.

“I feel very good at how we prepared,” Beamer said. “Now it’s taking it to the field and playing that way.”

“It’s about respect,” Kelly said of his program’s first Bowl Championship Series appearance. “It’s about credibility.”

The basics out of the way, the coaches engaged in broader issues.

Beamer on the Hokies’ second consecutive Orange Bowl and fifth BCS game: “I told our players, again, take advantage of the moment because it’s not every year we can get to a game like this. So I think it’s important to understand how big the Orange Bowl is.”

Kelly laughingly recalling the spring breaks of his college years: “I know I was here. I know I ate food late at night. Other than that, I can’t remember.”

Beamer on how he’s evolved as a coach: “I still believe that the most important thing in coaching is your relationship with the players. Can they trust you? Do they believe in you? Because what happens when things get rocky, the only people that can get you out of it are those players.”

Kelly on the often-maligned Big East’s 11-2 bowl record the last three years (Pittsburgh plays Oregon State later today): “I don’t think we need to compare ourselves to anybody. We can let the numbers speak for themselves.”

Beamer on the similarities between Cincinnati in 2008 and Virginia Tech in 1995 (the Hokies’ first Big East title and major bowl): “You’ve got to have that conference affiliation, I think, because it gives you an avenue to the bowl games and it gives you an avenue to TV and so forth. … You see this program, the state they’re in, Ohio, great football. Now they’re with a great conference. You just see it taking off.”

Kelly on the Bearcats sharing a hotel with P. Diddy: “To me he’s ‘Diddy.’ We’ve got a busy hotel. Jamie Foxx was in the lobby the other day, and I didn’t know who he was, either, until one of our players pointed him out. So I need to get out and get a life.”

Kelly on how closely his followed the presidential election: “Other than Obama having a rally at Nippert Stadium and taking one of our practice opportunities — by the way, he’s going to have to pay us back for that I would think. Other than that … I really didn’t spend much time focusing in on it. I was just as confused as everybody else.”

Fun stuff. Hope the game’s as entertaining.

Enjoy your New Year’s Eve, and to quote Sergeant Esterhaus from the old NBC series Hill Street Blues: “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”

Mayo earned award -- and respect

Jerod Mayo does both, and it's a primary reason this inside linebacker from Kecoughtan High and the University of Tennessee received the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award today.

"It's a great honor," Mayo said a few minutes ago during a media teleconference. "It definitely means a lot to me. I knew I was going to a winning organization with guys who would support me. I look at it as a team award because I couldn't have done it without those guys."

Mayo received 49 of 50 votes in balloting. His support within the New England Patriots locker room is equally universal.

Mayo earned the landslide by seizing a starting job during training camp and leading the Patriots in tackles — he finished with 137 — throughout their 11-5 season. He earned his new teammates’ respect shortly after New England selected him with the 10th pick of the NFL draft.

I saw that respect first-hand in mid-October. Combing the Patriots’ locker room in Foxborough, Mass., I spoke with several players about Mayo, including Pro Bowl talents such as safety Rodney Harrison and linebacker Adalius Thomas.

Harrison echoed all.

“One of the things you like about Jerod is he’s a humble kid, a quiet guy,” Harrison said. “He’s willing to learn. A lot of guys drafted where he was come in and think they’ve got it all mapped out.

“Physically, the guy is big, he can run and he can hit. The mental aspect for any rookie is the hardest part. Every week, there are so many adjustments you have to make on the fly. Every team is so different.”

While glad to see someone from home, Mayo was a shy interview subject then. He understood and embraced his place on a team with Super Bowl pedigree, and wanted no grand headlines.

Moreover, Mayo didn’t appear affected by his new-found wealth — he signed a five-year, $18.9 million contract. Sure, so he bought a new pick-up. But he rented a house near the team’s compound and spent many nights studying video.

More than two months later, little if anything has changed.

"For the most part I'll be in Foxborough trying to get better," Mayo said today of his offseason plans. "It's a full-time job. ... I set my goals high. My main goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win it. If we do that my personal goals will fall into place."

Mayo thanked teammates such as Harrison, Thomas, Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel, as well as linebackers coach Mike Patricia, for easing his transition to the NFL.

"Coming out of college I heard horror stories about different teams," Mayo said.

But he said Patriots veterans encouraged him "when I first walked in the door. ... I tried to learn as much as I could from them about being a professional on and off the field."

Last season New England won an historic 18 consecutive games before stumbling in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. Given that success, Mayo never expected to be a Day One starter.

December 30, 2008

Forecast for 2009

’Tis the season for year-end reflections. But barring short-term memory issues, you’re well acquainted with the history authored by Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Tiger Woods and Tina Fey in 2008.

So rather than rehash those feats and others, let’s be visionary and forecast 2009.

January: Moments after taking the oath, President Obama signs an executive order terminating the Bowl Championship Series and establishing a 16-team playoff for major college football. Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle hail Obama’s bipartisanship, while donations to his re-election coffers soar. A subsequent bonfire of the polyester sportcoats worn by bowl scouts over the years solves the energy crisis and ends our addiction to foreign oil.

February: Phoebus High quarterback Tajh Boyd stuns recruiting analysts by signing with Boise State. “I thought I loved West Virginia and then Tennessee and then Ohio State,” Boyd says. “But as soon as I saw this Phantom-blue turf, I knew this was the place for me.”

March: A blizzard dumps two feet of snow on Boise. Boyd asks to be released from his letter-of-intent so he can attend Southern California.

April: Davidson defeats Liberty to win college basketball’s national championship. Stephen Curry scores 52 for the victorious Wildcats, Seth Curry 44 for the Flames. Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg scalps his tickets for the title game and enters the witness protection program.

May: Continuing the tournament’s run of hall-of-fame champions, Lorena Ochoa wins the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Sponsor Anheuser-Busch InBev then disbands the event with a one-sentence press release that reads: “We don’t care about golf in Belgium.”

June: Rocco Mediate defeats Tiger Woods in a 19-hole playoff at the U.S. Open. “I couldn’t bring myself to beat a one-legged opponent last year,” Mediate says. “This year he was healthy, and he was mine.”

July: Former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel, a late first-round draft pick of the New York Jets, signs a lucrative contract and hires his long lost cousin, David, as his agent.

August: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer announces that Greg Boone will start at quarterback for the Hokies and that Tyrod Taylor is being redshirted.

September: Alabama houses the Hokies 38-6 in the season-opener, after which Beamer names Taylor the starter for Week 2.

October: Freed from the bondage of Tribune Company mismanagement, the Chicago Cubs sweep the New York Yankees to win their first World Series in 101 years. Instantly the heavens echo with “Holy Cow!” and Northsiders flock to Harry Caray’s Steakhouse.

November: Virginia defeats Virginia Tech in football for only the second time in 10 years, knocking the Hokies out of the ACC title game and easing the pain of the Cavaliers’ third losing season in four years. “Given the circumstances, it was an appropriately coached game,” someone in the Virginia locker room says.

December: Mike London coaches Richmond to a second consecutive Division I-AA national championship and, well, you know the rest of the story.

December 29, 2008

Report flatters Virginia, Virginia Tech

Data compiled by the NCAA in recent years have indicated that the state’s flagship athletic departments, Virginia and Virginia Tech, should take pride in their academic standards and performances.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution study published Sunday adds to the evidence.

Through Freedom of Information Act requests, the newspaper compiled SAT scores and high school grade-point averages for 54 public universities that compete in Bowl Championship Series conferences. The SAT numbers were broken down for the general student body, athletes, football players and men’s basketball players, the GPAs solely for football and basketball.

Before presenting the scores and GPAs, let’s all agree that standardized tests and high school grades are hardly infallible. An A at High School X is not the same as at High School Y, while some students simply quake when handed a No. 2 pencil for the SAT.

Virginia’s data was for the 2002-04 incoming classes, Tech’s 2003-05. As at all the schools surveyed, athletes’ average SAT scores lagged far behind the student body norm.

No shock there. It’s the cost of playing big-boy sports. Anyway, without further adieu, some numbers:

Virginia’s average SAT scores were 1,323 for students, 1,129 for athletes, and 993 for football players. The school did not reveal scores or GPAs for men’s basketball players because a small sample size might violate privacy laws. The average high school GPA for football signees was 3.04.

Virginia Tech’s average SATs were 1,200 for students, 1,072 for athletes, 951 for football signees and 983 for men’s basketball players. The norm GPA for football was 3.08, for men’s basketball 2.74.

December 28, 2008

The "other" London helps Dolphins win

During the Miami Dolphins’ drive to the game-winning touchdown against the New York Jets this afternoon, Chad Pennington converted a third-and-5 from the Jets’ 31 with a 10-yard slant pass to Brandon London.

When CBS’ Jim Nantz called London’s name, I did a double-take. Could it be?

Then analyst Phil Simms called him “Landon,” which confused me further.

But turns out it was Mike London’s son, a Dolphins rookie receiver who spent last year on the New York Giants’ practice squad. London played in 14 of 16 regular-season games this year, but Sunday’s was only his third reception (totaling 30 yards), his first since Nov. 30.

Two plays after London’s grab, Pennington threw a 20-yard scoring strike to tight end Anthony Fasano to give Miami a 21-17 lead. The Dolphins won 24-17 to complete a remarkable reversal from 1-15 a year ago to 11-5 and AFC East champions.

Brandon London graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2006 with 148 receptions for 2,022 yards, both among the top-five career marks in school history.

His dad, a Bethel High graduate, just guided the University of Richmond to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship in his first season as a head coach.

December 27, 2008

Former Cav Mason steals the show

Roger Mason said no to the San Antonio Spurs once. Both parties are thrilled he didn’t decline twice.

On a Christmas Day that showcased LeBron, Kobe and the world champion Celtics, Mason, a fifth-year guard from the University of Virginia, authored the signature moment with an at-the-buzzer 3-pointer that gave the visiting Spurs a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Mason making a 3 has become SOP since his arrival in the Lone Star State. Entering tonight’s game against Memphis, he’s shooting 47.5 percent from beyond the arc, third-best in the NBA behind Phoenix’s Jason Richardson and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant.

Moreover, Mason is averaging 12.8 points, more than double his career mark of 5.5 entering the season.

“He’s a shooter,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the Christmas win. “He loves to do it, and we have confidence in him.”

In fact, the Spurs wanted Mason for last season and offered him a three-year, $3 million, free-agent contract, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Mason opted to remain with his hometown Washington Wizards, signing a one-year extension.

Afforded additional playing time because of Gilbert Arenas’ knee injury, Mason averaged a career-best 9.1 points. Again the Spurs offered, this time a two-year deal the Express-News values at $7.5 million.

This time Mason said yes, and now he’s a part-time starter for a perennial contender that’s won four of the last 10 NBA championships. Meanwhile, the Wizards are 4-23.

Mason had not played in the fourth quarter Thursday until Popovich summoned him with 4.3 seconds remaining and the Spurs inbounding in front of their bench. Point guard Tony Parker caught the inbounds pass and beat Grant Hill off the dribble, prompting Richardson to help and leaving Mason alone in the left corner.

“I told Manu (Ginobili) coming out of the huddle that I wanted that left corner,” Mason said. “If I got it there, I knew I'd feel good about it.”

In three seasons at Virginia, Mason made 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers and averaged 13.8 points. He declared early for the draft in 2002, and Chicago selected him in the second round, the Cavaliers’ first draftee since Cory Alexander and Junior Burrough in 1995.

Mason played sparingly for the Bulls and Toronto Raptors over two years before spending two seasons in Israel. He then returned to the NBA and played two years in Washington.

San Antonio (19-10) has won eight of its last 10 and trails only the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference. With teammates such as Parker, Ginobili and future hall of famer Tim Duncan, Mason could become the first Virginia alum since Jeff Lamp in 1988 with the Lakers to win an NBA championship.

December 26, 2008

Hokies' report card

During my college years, a.k.a. The Dark Ages, much of our winter break was spent awaiting the snail-mail (email was science fiction) arrival of first-semester grades.

Did my flowery yet shallow essay fool our nun-turned-radical-philosophy-teacher? Was that hard-ass American history prof really sticking to a 7-point grading scale? Would Mom and Dad goose the monthly beer allowance if I made Dean's List?

In that spirit, and at the Dec. 26 bequest of my bah-humbug boss, here are some grades for Virginia Tech's 2008 football season entering the Hokies' Orange Bowl date against Cincinnati. Since we're asking readers to submit their grades, it will be interesting to see who's tougher.

Offense: The Hokies have not scored four offensive touchdowns in any game and still lack a consistent passing threat. Darren Evans, the first Tech freshman to rush for more than 1,000 yards, is the highlight. Grade: D.

Defense: Tech lost seven starters, four of whom were drafted by NFL teams, from last season's lock-down D. So what happened this season? The Hokies are allowing 1.4 more points and 19.8 fewer yards per game. Grade: A.

Special teams: Dustin Keys has been dependable, making 21-of-26 field goals. But a blocked punt for touchdown cost the Hokies their opener against East Carolina, and a punt return for touchdown contributed to their demise at Boston College. By Frank Beamer's standards, that's awful. Grade: D.

Coaching: Despite the team's youth, warts and regular-season stumbles, and despite the staff's indecision about quarterback deployment, Beamer and his assistants guided the program to its second consecutive ACC title. Grade: B.

In college terms, these grades average to a 2.25. Seems awfully low for a conference title, but you tell me where I was too harsh.

Mike Groh was a poor choice from the start, and not simply because he was the head coach’s son. He had never worked at another school, never coached under anyone except his father.

Inexperience + nepotism = problems.

Sure enough, Mike Groh’s three seasons were rife with disappointment. Rather than regurgitate the stats for the hundredth time, suffice to say the Cavaliers struggled to score and endured two losing seasons.

So exit Mike Groh — anyone who thinks the separation was voluntary is more delusional than Rod Blagojevich — and enter Brandon.

In six seasons as Bowling Green’s head coach, from 2003-08, Brandon had one losing year — 4-8 in 2006. His overall record was 44-30, but only 24-24 in the last four seasons.

Bowling Green fired Brandon last month, because of the on-the-field decline and off-the-field academic and legal transgressions. The NCAA docked the Falcons seven scholarships in 2008 and two more in 2009 due to their poor Academic Progress Rates.

But football is big business in Charlottesville — you don’t pay your coach two million clams and raise 86 million more to gussie up the stadium so as to brag about admirable graduation rates — and Brandon was hired to upgrade the product.

His pedigree is undeniable. He spent eight years at Bowling Green, six as head coach and two as coordinator, and seven of his offenses ranked among the nation’s top 50 in scoring — a level Virginia last attained in 2004.

As an assistant, the 52-year-old Brandon has worked for Urban Meyer, Gary Barnett and Mike Price, respected minds all. His teams have not only passed as effectively as you’d expect for an advocate of the spread offense, but also run well enough to create balance.

Moreover, Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs generated early Heisman Trophy buzz in 2004, when he ranked second nationally in total offense and threw 45 touchdown passes. Virginia has thrown 46 touchdown passes in the last four seasons combined.

Jameel Sewell, Marc Verica, Vic Hall and whoever else might take snaps next season should be ecstatic.

“The U.Va. offense will be wide open and fun to watch,” Brandon said in a statement. “Our players will find the system unique and creative. I can’t wait to get started.”

Great quote. Nice sentiment. One caveat: That fourth-quarter flea-flicker against Virginia Tech had better work.

December 23, 2008

NFL playoff makeover?

Many college football fans believe Boise State and Texas Tech were screwed out of the Bowl Championship Series in favor of less deserving teams.

The Broncos and Red Raiders certainly can make the case, but they won’t be getting sympathy cards from the New England Patriots.

Perfect until the Super Bowl last season and without Tom Brady this, the Patriots are poised to join a select club to which they’d rather not belong: 11-5 NFL teams that did not make the playoffs.

It’s happened only once since the 1978 advent of the 16-game schedule — to the 1985 Denver Broncos. They finished a game behind the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC West and lost tiebreakers to the New York Jets and New England Patriots for the wild cards.

Meanwhile, the 8-8 Cleveland Browns won the AFC Central before losing their first playoff game.

The 2008 Patriots could well join the ’85 Broncos. They are 10-5 entering Sunday’s regular-season finale at Buffalo and have won three straight, four of their last five.

But even at 11-5, New England will miss the playoffs unless the Baltimore Ravens lose at home to Jacksonville (fat chance) or the Miami Dolphins lose at the Jets (coin flip). A Ravens victory gives them the second wild card (Indianapolis has the other); a Dolphins win gives them the AFC East.

Meanwhile, the 7-8 San Diego Chargers and 8-7 Denver Broncos meet in a winner-take-all contest for the AFC West. Moreover, the 8-7 Arizona Cardinals have clinched the NFC West and a first-round home game.

The same Cardinals whom the Patriots exposed 47-7 in snowy Foxborough on Sunday. Spare us the excuses about a warm-weather team playing in the elements (Miami won in frigid Kansas City on Sunday) or a western team traveling east (San Diego won at Tampa on Sunday) — Arizona, 1-4 in its last five, is a fraud.

Such are the hazards of awarding playoff spots to division “champs.” The NBA has abandoned that practice, tabbing the teams with the eight best records in the Eastern and Western conferences, regardless of division.

But that doesn’t prevent conference disparity such as the NFL’s Patriots-Cardinals issue. For example, last season the Western Conference’s Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs at 48-34, while the East’s Atlanta Hawks made them at 37-45.

College football’s BCS is similar. As ACC champs, Virginia Tech received an automatic bid despite four losses and a No. 19 ranking in the BCS standings. But once-beaten Texas Tech and undefeated Boise State, Nos. 7 and 9, respectively, were left out.

Moreover, No. 10 and twice-beaten Ohio State received an at-large BCS bid instead of Boise — Texas Tech was ineligible for an at-large because no conference can have more than two representatives, and Big 12 rivals Oklahoma and Texas are in.

My contempt for the BCS is boundless, and I’m guessing most college fans favor a playoff.

But what about the pros? Do they need to tweak their postseason? Does it bother you that a legitimate Super Bowl contender such as New England could be shut out, while Arizona and the San Diego-Denver winner make the playoffs?

December 22, 2008

Foster defends his D

Much has been made, and rightfully so, of Virginia Tech’s purported all-business approach to the Orange Bowl.

Poor performances and subsequent defeats in the Hokies’ last two bowls prompted coach Frank Beamer and his staff to rethink their approach to postseason practice. The run-up to this season’s Orange Bowl against Cincinnati included practices during exam week and a two-quarter, full-contact scrimmage Sunday — both additions to past schedules.

But in a rare break from the win-as-a-team, lose-as-a-team mantra, defensive coordinator Bud Foster wants you to know his bunch was not part of the problem preparing for last season’s Orange Bowl against Kansas.

“We felt the last two years we’ve given the bowls away,” Foster said Saturday, referring to the Kansas loss and Chick-fil-A Bowl meltdown against Georgia in 2006. “I thought last year, and I told Coach Beamer this, we had our best bowl practices in all the time that I’ve been here as a defense.

“And I thought we played that way. They [Kansas] got a touchdown on a defensive score and they got a 2-yard drive. That was 14 of their 24 points, and that was against a team averaging 50 points going into the game.”

Foster’s recall is close to spot-on.

The Jayhawks’ first touchdown came on Aqib Talib’s 60-yard interception return of a Tyrod Taylor pass. And their final points came after Justin Thornton returned his pick of Sean Glennon 30 yards to Tech’s 2 — quarterback Todd Reesing scored on the next play.

Moreover, a Kansas field goal was set up when Glennon threw an interception at his own 31. And while Kansas was not averaging 50 points a game, the actual number (44.3) ranked second nationally, behind Hawaii and Colt Brennan.

Foster expects a similar effort from his defense Jan. 1 against Cincinnati, despite the Bearcats’ spread passing attack and injuries that could sideline defensive end Jason Worilds (shoulder) and linebacker Brett Warren (knee).

“The best way you spell fun is w-i-n,” he said. “You win those bowl games, that’s a lot of fun. …

“I know when we had our best bowl games, our seniors kind of took over and said, ‘Hey look, we’re not partying as much this year. … We’re going down there to win a football game.’ We’ve got a young team so this year [the staff] is kind of setting that tone.”

What will be interesting to watch is if Tech’s offense sputters against Cincinnati, and the Hokies lose despite a worthy defensive effort, whether Foster calls out the unit again.

Was Foster right to publicly absolve the defense and blame the offense? Given the Hokies’ two-year struggles to score, is it about time? Or should he have bitten his tongue?

Of course, we media jackals enjoy a little strife and tension. But what do fans think?

December 21, 2008

Bleak basketball forecast

Vacation and Christmas shopping are done. Bummer on the former. Hallelujah on the latter.

Regardless, with college football’s regular season complete and the relevant bowls not yet upon us, it’s as good a time as any to survey college basketball.

For fans of the state’s ACC outfits, the outlook is bleak.

Virginia Tech (7-4) should beat St. John’s this afternoon to claim its second consecutive Holiday Festival title at Madison Square Garden. But the Hokies have impressed no one, including coach Seth Greenberg.

Greenberg was none too pleased with his team’s effort in yesterday’s 64-52 Holiday Festival victory over Columbia. Leading scorer A.D. Vassallo spent the first seven minutes on the bench for violating team rules, and other than Malcolm Delaney (25 points), no one distinguished himself.

Yes, the Hokies’ four losses are by a combined eight points. And yes, two of their conquerors, Xavier and Wisconsin, are NCAA tournament caliber.

But Seton Hall and Georgia are not, and Tech likely needs a 10-6 ACC record to overcome those defeats and assure itself an NCAA bid. That means better on-the-ball defense, more consistent play from center Jeff Allen and the emergence of a fourth scorer (freshman Victor Davila?) to complement Vassallo, Delaney and Allen.

We’ll learn a good deal about the Hokies in their ACC opener — Jan 4 at Duke.

Virginia opens conference play a week from today at Georgia Tech. But after yesterday’s home loss to Auburn dropped the Cavaliers to 4-4, it’s fair to wonder if this bunch can win more than four ACC games.

Diane did not score or attempt a shot in 20 minutes yesterday. He’s averaging 4.6 points and has missed all 17 of his 3-point attempts.

Hey, given Virginia’s home loss to Liberty and close calls against Radford, VMI and South Florida, Tuesday’s home test against Hampton is no gimme.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” Coach Dave Leitao told reporters after the Auburn game, “particularly with our inability to play a game from start to finish that we prepared to play. Two things we emphasized were to execute a game plan and do it with a high level of passion. We didn’t sustain either and it obviously cost us in the beginning, it cost us in the middle and it cost us late. We need to continue to work on those issues to one, get better, and two, win games like this that are going to be left in the balance.”

One final ACC observation: Top-ranked North Carolina and No. 10 Wake Forest are on track for a battle of unbeatens Jan. 11 in Winston-Salem.

The Tar Heels have four games in the interim, but Rutgers, Nevada-Reno, Boston College and the College of Charleston don’t appear capable of challenging them.

The Deacons are at East Carolina tomorrow before a home game against Radford and a road trip to Brigham Young. The latter contest could well spoil the unbeaten storyline.

December 13, 2008

London calling

Mike London is the first to say he inherited the mother lode when he became the University of Richmond's football coach in January.

He is the last to say that the bounty of 17 returning starters from a national semifinalist still demanded strong leadership, resourceful coaching and subtle tuning.

But London, a graduate of UR and Bethel High, provided all that and more, and Saturday the dividend was a riveting 21-20 victory at Northern Iowa that propels the Spiders into Friday's Division I-AA national championship game against Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Even as Richmond fell behind 20-7, even as the UNI crowd cheered louder and the fourth-quarter clock wound down, you never sensed panic in the players or their rookie head coach. And that last drive: Are you kiddin' me?

Sixty-two yards in 90 seconds? On the road with no timeouts? A fourth-down conversion just for fun?

Just another example of the playoff drama that the knotheads running Division I-A football insist on denying athletes, coaches and fans.

But back to London.

When Richmond coach Dave Clawson inexplicably resigned after last season to become offensive coordinator at Tennessee, London was the no-duh choice to succeed him. He'd worked as an assistant at Richmond, William and Mary, Boston College, Virginia and with the NFL's Houston Texans. He'd established a reputation as an effective recruiter and defensive strategist.

"I've been trained for this," London said at his introductory news conference.

He learned his lessons well. Since a disheartening loss to James Madison in mid-October, Richmond (12-3) has won eight consecutive games, including an overtime conquest at William and Mary in the regular-season finale and a 33-13 second-round playoff pounding of three-time defending national champion Appalachian State last week in Boone, N.C.

Of course, players such as quarterback Eric Ward, defensive end Lawrence Sidbury and running back Josh Vaughan were the linchpins. But London forged the Spiders into a team, particularly after the last-second loss to JMU could have splintered them.

Moreover, as Comrade Fairbank chronicled in a column last month, London helped his players navigate life and death -- one Spider lost his mother, another a brother.

Like Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, London is the consummate local-guy-makes-good story. It's enough to turn a JMU alum still nursing Friday's loss to Montana into a Richmond fan.

December 8, 2008

Delaying the inevitable?

Following a 2-9-1 football season in 1992, then-Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine strong-armed coach Frank Beamer into staff changes.

Beamer, a Virginia Tech alum, was 24-40-2 at the time after six seasons. He had no leverage, and his job was on the line.

So Beamer swallowed hard and jettisoned some assistants, including offensive coordinator Steve Marshall.

Sound familiar, Virginia fans?

You can only hope the Cavaliers’ current staff drama turns out half as well.

Beamer, as you know, is still alive and kicking in Blacksburg. In fact, since 1992 his Hokies have enjoyed 16 consecutive winning seasons and six conference championships, the latest of which came Saturday when Virginia Tech defeated Boston College in the ACC title game.

While the Hokies were dusting the Eagles, Virginia coach Al Groh was finalizing changes on his staff. The news leaked yesterday and was announced today.

Clearly this was not Al Groh’s preference. Overwhelming evidence notwithstanding, he does not consider Mike Groh’s three seasons as offensive coordinator a failure.

But like Beamer in 1992, Groh has no leverage.

Yes, his eight-season record at his alma mater (57-43) towers over Beamer’s at the time. But the Cavaliers have endured two losing seasons in the last three years and are 1-7 against Beamer’s Hokies under Groh.

Moreover, unlike Beamer then, Groh has no reserve of goodwill from which to draw. His promotion of Mike Groh, his academically deficient 2006 recruiting class and his excessive salary (more than $2 million next season) have left him with few allies among fans and administrators.

So when athletic director Craig Littlepage declined to exercise the annual rollover clause in Groh’s contract, effectively trimming its duration from four years to three, and likely suggested (wink, wink) changes, Groh had a choice.

Comply or walk.

He complied, and to avoid singling out Mike Groh, made Belin and Bernstein collateral damage — defense is not the problem.

The problem now becomes finding quality replacements. Sure, the job market stinks like month-old eggnog, but who wants to take a gig with a boss who’s one substandard year away from unemployment himself? Who wants to work in an atmosphere where every game is a referendum on the Big Whistle’s job security?

Richmond coach Dave Clawson did precisely that after last season when he resigned to become Phil Fulmer’s OC at Tennessee. And look how that turned out.

How this turns out we cannot know. But we can surmise, and the hunch is today’s changes are cosmetic and delay the inevitable divorce.

December 6, 2008

It's Foster's time

This is Foster's 14th season as the Hokies' coordinator, a run that's included many a dominant defense. But never has he been better than this year, and rarely has he been better than in Saturday's 30-12 ACC championship game victory over Boston College.

The defense scored one touchdown and set up a 10-yard drive for another. It created four turnovers and recorded five sacks.

Rookie quarterback Dominique Davis had no chance.

This Foster has done despite losing seven starters from last season, including big-timers such as Brandon Flowers, Chris Ellis, Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall.

December 4, 2008

Tajh Boyd: Chapter 3

Doomed from the start. Tennessee was going to fire coach Phil Fulmer and everyone could see it coming, including I'd guess, Boyd and his family.

Yet the acclaimed Phoebus quarterback committed anyway, saying the coach wasn't as important as the institution, logic that conflicted with his decision days earlier to renounce his pledge to West Virginia because the Mountaineers' offense doesn't suit him.

Hey, props to Kiffin for his honesty and offer to honor the scholarship handshake. And kudos to the Boyds for gracefully withdrawing.

But it needn't have come to this. After the annulment with West Virginia, Boyd should have taken his time, visited several campuses and delayed his decision until the new year, a path Tim Boyd now says they'll follow.

The timing, of course, couldn't be worse with Phoebus preparing for Saturday's Division 5 state championship game against Dinwiddie. In fact, if folks could collect the steam rising from Bill Dee's dome, they could heat the entire school for a week.

That said, no distraction or opponent figures to deny the unbeaten Phantoms their fourth state title in eight years. They're that good, especially on defense.

Question now becomes, where does Boyd shop his wares? Florida State and Boston College apparently are intrigued. Bet Virginia and Virginia Tech snoop around, too.

December 3, 2008

Three playoff rematches

Colonial Athletic Association teams went 4-1 in the opening round of the Division I-AA football playoffs to set up rematches Saturday of three beyond-wild games.

The CAA's lone setback, Maine's 40-15 loss at Northern Iowa, undoubtedly prompted a few smirks at William and Mary, which belonged in the 16-team field instead of conference rival Maine. But we digress.

James Madison, Villanova, Richmond and New Hampshire advanced last week and encounter hauntingly familiar foes Saturday.

JMU and Villanova play one another, less than two months after the No. 1 Dukes' Hail Mary regular-season victory over the Wildcats. Trailing 19-17 and down to the final play, JMU quarterback Rodney Landers heaved the ball into a stiff wind toward the end zone, where it bounced off a Villanova helmet, two Villanova players' hands and into the arms of receiver Bosco Williams.

Realizing his team's outrageous luck, and spent from the afternoon, JMU coach Mickey Matthews couldn't even muster a sideline celebration. He simply walked onto the field, and with a glazed look shook hands with Villanova coach Andy Talley.

The 23 points were the fewest the Dukes scored in a I-AA game this season, and they're averaging 46.3 in four games since. Moreover, they're at home Saturday.

Richmond and New Hampshire must travel, the Spiders to three-time defending national champion Appalachian State, the Wildcats to Northern Iowa.

Last season Richmond played at App State in the playoff semifinals, and midway through the third quarter the teams were tied at 35. But quarterback Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers to the game's final 20 points in a 55-35 victory.

Edwards RUSHED for 313 yards and four touchdowns, and completed 14-of-16 passes for 182 yards, two scores and no picks. Translation: He was darn near perfect.

New Richmond coach Mike London, a Bethel High grad, is a defensive guy. Eager to see how he fares against Edwards on Saturday.

New Hampshire-Northern Iowa is a rematch from last season's first round. The Wildcats trailed 31-21 early in the fourth quarter and rallied to lead 35-31, only to lose on a 24-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining.

The New Hampshire-Northern Iowa winner faces the Richmond-App State survivor in the semifinals. The JMU-Villanova winner draws either Montana or Weber State.

Memo to the dinosaurs running Division I-A football: This is what you're missing. Playoff football does NOT devalue the regular season. Best of all, it settles championships on the field, where the athletes and fans prefer.

December 2, 2008

BCS wrong again

Not that the BCS was devised to break conference ties. But it's such an inviting target that we might as well blame it for everything from this Big 12 tiebreaker mess to the new Britney Spears album.

By now you know the backstory. Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas tied atop the Big 12 South with 7-1 conference records. The teams were 1-1 against each other, forcing the conference down to its fifth tiebreaker -- the BCS standings -- to determine which qualified for the Big 12 championship game.

The standings favored Oklahoma. Should have been Texas.

Here's why:

Reasonable observers will agree that this is a Texas-Oklahoma debate. Yes, Texas Tech defeated Texas. But that was at home on a 28-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining.

Two weeks later, the Red Raiders lost 65-21 at Oklahoma. Sorry, but when you're splitting hairs, margins matter.

Which brings us to Texas and Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 45-35 in October on, and this is important, a neutral field (Dallas' Cotton Bowl).

Yes, Oklahoma's non-conference schedule (Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Washington and Texas Christian) was more challenging than Texas' (Florida Atlantic, Texas-El Paso, Rice and Arkansas). And yes, Oklahoma has scored a staggering 192 points in its last three games.

But Texas' only defeat was on the road, at the buzzer, and to an 11-1 opponent. Oklahoma lost by 10 to Texas at a neutral site.

Voters in the Harris poll, one of two human surveys employed by the BCS, ranked the Longhorns ahead of the Sooners this week by six points. The other BCS poll, the coaches' survey, favored the Sooners by one point.

The determining factors were the seven computer ratings, five of which preferred Oklahoma.

Despite the snub, Texas still has two potential routes to at least a share of the national championship.

1. If Missouri upsets Oklahoma in Saturday's Big 12 title game, Texas would vault into the national championship game against the Florida-Alabama winner.

2. If Oklahoma beats Missouri and wins the BCS title game, and Texas wins its BCS bowl, Associated Press pollsters, who are not obligated to vote for the BCS champ, could award the AP title to Texas. A shared national championship between Oklahoma and Texas?

December 1, 2008

Parsing Littlepage

The University of Virginia's decision not to exercise the annual extension clause in football coach Al Groh's contract was expected.

After all, the Cavaliers finished 5-7, their second losing season in three years. They dropped their final four games for the first time since 1982 and lost to Virginia Tech for the ninth time in 10 years.

"I will be meeting with (Groh) in the next 48 hours to conduct a year-end review of the football program," Littlepage said. "I will have no further comment about coach Groh's contract or the review process of the program."

OK, year-end reviews are SOP. But announcing the timetable for such a review while also declining further comment?

Maybe it's cynicism and/or paranoia, but methinks some other things are at play here.

Might Virginia be passing the hat and peering under the sofa cushions for the $5 million-plus it would take to terminate Groh? That seems doubtful given Littlepage's assurance last month that Groh would return in 2009.

In his meeting with Groh, will Littlepage demand staff changes that involve offensive coordinator Mike Groh, Al's son? That should and may transpire, given the Cavaliers' anemic production during Mike Groh's three seasons as coordinator.

If Littlepage mandates change, how will Al Groh respond? Do university officials hope he'll resign and offer to negotiate a settlement of the remaining three years of his contract?

Stay tuned. This might get interesting.

By the way, Littlepage is usually very prompt about responding to e-mail, so after reading his statement last night, I e-mailed him asking if his Groh-will-return stance from mid-November remained firm.